Michigan consumers lose access to wine-shop shipments

A new tweak in the Michigan liquor laws went into effect Wednesday that makes it almost impossible for state residents to have wine shipped to them by a wine shop.

The new state law specifies that wine shops in Michigan or out of state can ship directly to consumers only in their own vehicles, not by common carriers such as FedEx or UPS.

This bill is not so much aimed at Michigan wine shops. Instead, it targets stores like Sam's Wine & Spirits in Chicago and high-end stores in New York and Washington, D.C., which ship sought-after labels usually at savings.

"This law is trying to prevent wines from being shipped into Michigan without going through the three-tier system," said John Lossia, owner of Merchant's Fine Wine in Dearborn. The proposal was backed by Michigan beer and wine distributors.

There is not a need for most wine shops in Michigan to ship wine to residents, but they do use independent carriers for gift baskets, which typically contain wine.

"This law is going to hurt our gift-basket business," said Lossia.

According to the Specialty Wine Retailers Association, the Michigan liquor distributors that pushed for this bill contributed more than $522,000 to state lawmakers in the last election cycle.

Meanwhile, Michigan craft distilleries are urging legislators to pass a new bill, State Senate Bill 427, introduced Wednesday, to allow wineries with distilleries to sell their products at satellite tasting rooms.

Most of the small distilleries in the state were started by wineries -- Round Barn, St. Julian and Black Star to name a few. Under current law, these wineries can sell their distilled spirits only at the tasting room at the site where they produce it, which greatly limits their ability to sell these products. Round Barn, for example, has satellite tasting rooms in Union Pier and Saugatuck, where they cannot sell their vodka and brandies.